Currently, many applications for use in personal computers are written as single monolithic programs, each of which is designed with a specific primary function to be performed. For example, word processing programs are designed to create and edit textual documents. Although not designed for text processing, many other types of programs also provide for incidental use of text. For example, spreadsheet programs enable text to be inserted in the spreadsheet as descriptors for rows and columns of information. Similarly, graphics applications such as painting and drawing programs provide for the use of text as labels within the paintings and drawings. While all of these different types of programs provide text editing facilities, they differ in the specific manner in which text is edited. Some of the applications provide a large number of capabilities for this function, while others are quite limited. Consequently, users are required to learn a different way to perform the same task, i.e. edit text, for each of the different types of applications.
It is desirable, therefore, to provide an architecture in which a component of a document, such as text, can be employed wherever needed while at the same time be created and edited in a consistent manner, regardless of the particular environment in which it resides. With such an approach, the same set of commands can be used to edit text whether it is present in a word processing document, a spreadsheet, a graphic document or any other document. The user only has to learn about one text editor, and can thereby become more comfortable with the editing process.
Further along these lines, it is desirable to be able to edit the components of a compound document within the document itself. In the context of the present invention, a compound document is one in which two or more different types of programs are used to produce the appearance of a single unified piece of information. For example, it could be a text document which includes a drawing created by a graphics program. These two types of information have a containment relationship to one another. More particularly, the text document functions as a container for the graphic object, such that the graphic object moves with and is affected by the text (container) document.
In the past, a compound document of this type would be created by running two separate applications. A word processing program was used to generate the textual portion of the document. A separate graphics application was used to generate the drawing. To incorporate the work products of these two programs into a single document, the drawing would be stored in a particular data type or format, and the contents of this data structure would be placed in the word processing document, for example by using a cut and paste operation. Often, the merging of these separate pieces of information into a single document was accomplished through a third application program, referred to as a presentation manager.
Once the drawing was embedded in the word processing document, its contents became static. If the drawing needed to be changed, it was necessary for the user to call up the graphics program, retrieve the original drawing, and edit that drawing within that program. The editing took place outside of the compound document, and the user could not view the changes in context as they were being made. The revised drawing would then have to be embedded in the word processing document, in place of the original drawing.
When a drawing, or other content, was embedded in another document, it existed as a separate object, distinct from the intrinsic contents of the document itself. In cases where the added material is of the same type as the document's contents, however, the user prefers that the added contents be incorporated into the existing contents of the document, rather than embedded as a separate object. While some programs allowed the user the option of incorporating material into the contents of a document, this result could only be accomplished through the use of intervening dialog boxes. For example, if material was added by means of a cut-and-paste or copy-and-paste operation, the user had to decide the method of pasting (embed or incorporate) each time added content was pasted into a document.
To overcome the need to switch between various applications, it is desirable to provide an approach which enables the various components of a compound document to be edited within the document itself. Not only does this approach save time and simplify the procedure, it enables the user to see the changes in context as they are being made. Furthermore, when material is added to a document, it is preferable to have that material be automatically incorporated into the intrinsic contents of the document, whenever possible.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a system in which a consistent user interface can be provided for a task, regardless of the environment in which the task is to be performed. In addition, it is the objective of the present invention to eliminate the need for user input to determine whether material that is added to a document should be incorporated or embedded in the document.